Israel's defense establishment on Sunday signaled that its patience was wearing thin vis-à-vis the security escalation in the south, with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi saying that while all signs indicate neither side was interested in a full-fledged conflict, Israel is nonetheless gearing up for further escalation.
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Gaza Strip-based terrorist groups fired dozens of rockets at Israel's south over the weekend, sending the residents of the border adjacent communities to shelters. Sporadic fire resumed on Sunday morning, and again overnight.
Defense officials said Sunday that the IDF has largely come to the conclusion that the current "strike-for-strike" protocol, by which any rocket fire on Israel is meat with a strike on Gaza, should be revised, and as long as no casualties are caused by terrorism fire, the military will opt for striking higher quality targets "at a time and place of the IDF's choosing."
The change in policy derives from an effort to break the cycle of recent years that has seen Israel being dragged into skirmishes in the coastal enclave, which defense official said that, while ending with Israel having the upper hand, still fell short of meeting the objectives.
Israel has no interest in another conflict in the Gaza sector, especially as it is clear that the cause is the unrest in Jerusalem and the May elections in the Palestinian Authority.
Still, both Kochavi and Defense Minister Benny Gantz stressed Sunday that the IDF was preparing to a serious escalation.
"There will probably be dilemmas about how to react to rocket fire from Gaza. Neither Israel nor Gaza have any interest in further escalation but if necessary, the IDF is prepared to mount a forceful response," the chief of staff said.
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